Your remote onboarding process is a golden moment to make a great impression on your new employee.
And with distributed work taking off, it’s time to update onboarding into a streamlined virtual process that is just as effective at acclimatizing employees to their roles.
Here at Esevel, we’ve virtually onboarded people throughout 6 countries in the Asia Pacific and are sharing the best practices we’ve learned.
Streamline your remote onboarding process with these 10 steps
To set your new joiner up for success, you can take the following steps:
Step 1: Welcome email to kick off the remote onboarding process
A week prior to their joining date, you’d want to send your new employee a welcome email confirming their start date and time.
You can also take this opportunity to send them your employee handbook or mission statement and ask them for any paperwork they’d need to submit in advance.
This important step helps ease any confusion or concerns the new joiner may have as their first day of work approaches.
At Esevel, we automate the process by sharing a Notion page with the employee with a simple welcome message and a list of items to read and to set up on their first day of work.
Bonus: 📧 Welcome email template:
Subject: Welcome to [Company Name] – Your Remote Journey Begins!
Dear [New Hire’s First Name],
Welcome to the [Company Name] team! We are thrilled to have you on board as a new member of our remote workforce. Your journey with us promises exciting challenges, opportunities, and growth.
As we embark on this remote adventure together, we want to ensure you have a smooth and inspiring onboarding experience. Here’s a brief overview of what to expect:
📌 Important Details:
Start date: [Insert Date]
Start time: [Insert Time]
Orientation date & time: [Insert date & time] Virtual Meeting Link: [Insert Link]
To make your transition into the team as seamless as possible, we have assigned [Buddy name & contact] as your buddy who will guide you during your first few weeks.
We understand that remote work comes with unique challenges, and we are committed to providing you with all the support you need to excel in your role. Please check out these tips for staying productive and maintaining a work-life balance.
Once again, welcome to [Company Name]. We’re excited about the contributions you’ll make to our team and the fresh perspectives you’ll bring. Get ready to embark on an incredible journey with us!
If you have any questions before your orientation date or need assistance with anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to [HR Contact Name] at [HR Contact Email].
I look forward to virtually meeting you and having you as part of the [Company Name] family.
Best regards,
[Your name]
[Your title]
Step 2: Ensure the new joiner has the necessary equipment
It’s crucial that your new joiner has the right equipment on or before their first day of work.
Your new designer really does need that MacBook Pro to do his work. Failing or being late to do so can mean he or she is prevented from completing other aspects of the onboarding process.
And with the fluctuations in laptop stock due to supply chain issues, you’d want to prepare for this well in advance. At Esevel, we are able to help with this – more on that later.
Step 3: Send a remote welcome gift pack or home office stipend
If you have company swag, it adds a nice touch to send your new joiner a welcome gift pack. It’d make them feel welcomed and part of the company.
Many companies also allocate a small stipend for the new employee’s work-from-home setup. A laptop riser or external keyboard can make a world of difference to their comfort and productivity.
But rather than asking your new joiner to purchase first and reimburse them later, you can improve the employee experience by using a platform like Esevel to allocate a fixed WFH stipend for your employee to purchase from.
Step 4: Set up employee access
To complete the onboarding process, your employee will need access to their email accounts, collaboration tools, SaaS applications, video-conferencing and other resources on their first day. If you use VPNs, they should also have VPN access to your network.
A digital onboarding tool like Esevel will be able to help you auto-configure their profiles and streamline this process.
Step 5: Assign a buddy
How do I apply for leave? Who should I approach about HR policies?
Rather than asking their new supervisor, most employees prefer to have a peer to help them navigate their first few weeks.
You can assign a more experienced employee to guide the new joiner through the onboarding process, introduce him / her to other colleagues and generally make sure they are settling in well.
At Esevel, we assign each new joiner a buddy who schedules friendly check-ins with the newcomer during their first month.
Step 6: Schedule virtual coffee chats
As a remote or hybrid team, spontaneous in-person interactions become rarer, especially between colleagues who rarely work together. This could potentially affect company culture.
That’s why at Esevel, we organize 1-1 coffee chats between the new joiner and the other team members during their first month.
During the coffee chats, they are encouraged to talk about everything outside of work – their family, their background, their hobbies. This helps them get to know each other better as individuals.
Step 7: Schedule training
As part of your remote onboarding process, you’d want to set up training sessions that help the newcomer understand what’s expected of them in their new role, educate them on company policies, and teach them how to use software systems that they are unfamiliar with.
Step 8: Schedule weekly 1-1s with the manager for the first month.
It’s particularly important for managers to check in with their new joiners during their first month. This is when they’d be settling into a new company, getting to know their new colleagues and trying to understand how the system works.
At Esevel, every manager schedules a weekly 1-1 with the new employees. During this session, new joiners are encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback.
Step 9: Create a 30-60-90 day remote onboarding plan
Creating a structured 30-60-90 day plan with concrete goals and milestones helps set out a clear course of action for new joiners during their first 3 months. It also helps empower them to take the initiative and accelerate their transition into your company.
Step 10: Manage change
Poor communication about the role of a new hire can cause confusion about roles and responsibilities. So you’d want to ensure that you communicate clearly with the rest of your team about your new hires.
Keep your team updated about hierarchies, roles, and responsibilities, so that they’re more receptive to change and create a positive environment for the new joiner.
Step 11: Gather feedback about the onboarding experience
Once your new remote employee settles in, ask for their thoughts about the onboarding process. This feedback helps improve future onboarding experiences. You can create a feedback form, have a virtual checkup meeting, or just simply chat with them.
Step 12: Celebrate achievements:
Recognize employees’ accomplishments even from their first few months, whether work-related or personal.
This is a powerful way to kick off a positive and vibrant workplace culture. It not only boosts morale but also fosters a sense of belonging, confidence, and loyalty among employees, ultimately contributing to the overall success of the organization.
How to streamline remote onboarding process using Esevel
If you’re looking for ways to streamline and automate your virtual onboarding process, here’s how Esevel can help:
- Automated onboarding workflows.
Using Esevel, you can use standardized workflows that ensure consistency across all your onboarding requests. You can first customize settings according to your business’s unique needs and thereafter, all you need to do is input the new joiner’s profile and we’ll handle the rest. - Device procurement and provisioning.
With Esevel, you can procure over 2000 different models of laptops and IT peripherals across 8 countries in the Asia Pacific, at zero markup. We will ensure every new hire gets the device delivered to their doorstep wherever they are, and can even provision the device so they can access your systems immediately. - Centralized tracking and management.
Using our centralized dashboard, you can track each stage of your employees’ onboarding, so there’s no confusion about who’s going to get what and when.
Are you ready to modernize your remote onboarding process? Let us help you. Contact us today to learn more.